Patients urged to return NHS equipment

Have you recently been unwell and needed to use a walking aid or specialist equipment to help you at home?

Past and present patients of Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust are being urged to check their homes for any medical equipment they may still have.

The Trust is launching an appeal for people to return any items they no longer need.

These could be items they have been issued with as they’ve left Scunthorpe, Grimsby or Goole hospitals or equipment they’ve been loaned from one of the Trust’s community teams to assist them at home.

Staff in the Assisted Living Centre at Grimsby hospital are appealing for people to return equipment

The Assisted Living Centre at Grimsby hospital and the equipment store in Scunthorpe loan out a wide range of equipment from walking sticks/ frames, bath hoists and shower chairs to grabbers, kettle tippers, specialist cushions, slide sheets and commodes.

Jayne Tibbs, operational lead, said: “These specialist items are aids for daily living which make a real difference to our patients’ lives; they help people maintain their independence and ultimately stay in their own home for longer.

“I’d urge people to have a look around their homes, in their spare rooms and cupboards for any equipment they might have left over from a time when they had contact with our services. The sooner we get the equipment back, the sooner another patient can benefit from its use.”

Items returned will be fully sterilised and cleaned before being loaned out to other patients.

For people in North East Lincolnshire:

Items can either be dropped off at the Assisted Living Centre at the Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital or for larger items call 01472 875592.

The centre is open Monday to Friday, from 10am to 6pm (with last entry at 5.30pm), and Saturday’s 10am to 4pm (last entry 3.30pm).

Directions: From Second Avenue: Pedestrians can access the centre from Second Avenue via the gated path running alongside the Grimsby Grange Care Home. From the hospital: Pedestrians and drivers can access the Assisted Living Centre by following the path/road immediately behind the Gardens/Rharian Fields, Navigo Buildings.

For people in North Lincolnshire:

Items can either be dropped off at the Community Equipment Store , Unit 4 Cupola Way, Scunthorpe, DN15 9YJ. For larger items call 01724 280273.
The store is open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm and from 8am to 4pm on Saturdays.

If you are a journalist and require further information contact the communications and marketing team on 03033 302528 or via nlg-tr.comms@nhs.net